Mithuna Couple, after Ajanta

ca. 1950–52
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
This study of a royal couple is styled after loving couples (mithuna) depicted in courtly scenes in the murals at the Buddhist rock-cut caves of Ajanta, in western India. Here Srimati consciously celebrated that great legacy of sixth-century Indian painting. Contemporary literary sources tell us that the palaces and grand houses of the era were adorned in a similar manner, but it is the murals that survive at Ajanta that best demonstrate the mastery of painting in early India.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mithuna Couple, after Ajanta
  • Artist: Y. G. Srimati (Indian, 1926–2007)
  • Date: ca. 1950–52
  • Culture: India (Chennai)
  • Medium: Watercolor on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 12 5/8 × 12 3/4 in. (32.1 × 32.4 cm)
    Mat: 22 × 28 in. (55.9 × 71.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Lent by Michael Pellettieri
  • Rights and Reproduction: © M. Pellettieri
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art